Game apparatus



(No Model.)

F. A. BYRAM. GAME APPARATUS.

No. 459,832. Patented Sept. 22,1891.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK A. BYRAM, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

GAME APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 459,832, dated September 22, 1891.

Application filed December 3, 1390. Serial No. 373,394. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK A. BYRAM, of the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new Game Apparatus, of which the following is a-true and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention consists of a new game apparatus consisting of a number or series of tops having faceted sides in aggregate number substantially equal to or greater than the number of letters in the alphabet and upon one of which the top will lie when at rest and upon which sides are printed or otherwise affixed letters of the alphabet. The tops are preferablyconstructedwithpointsuponwhieh to spin,situated below the faceted sides, and with a spindle extending above the sides, by

which a twirling motion can be given to the tops with the fingers.

In the drawings in which my invention is illustrated, Figure 1 represents six tops in the act of spinning, and Fig. 2 represents the tops lying upon their sides and arranged so that the letters upon the uppermost facet will spell the word Reform.

It is obvious, of course, that the number of tops may vary; but I have found that six is a proper number to make an interesting and amusing game, and propose to supply sets of six tops-put up in a neat box.

The game is played by spinning the tops and allowing them to fall over on their sides. The player spinning them has the first opportunity to see how many words he can construct by transposing the six letters which are uppermost, and after he is through the other players in turn form, if they can, additional words out of the same letters. The first player to obtain a list of one hundred words wins the game, and besides scoring in the way above described, those players who can make up sentences of three or more words should be allowed an addition of, say five, to their score. I also propose that an additional element of chance should be added to the game by making the player who first combines all the tops to spell one word the winner, irrespective of his scoring. Thus, for instance, the player arranging the six tops to spell the word Reform, as in Fig. 2 of the drawings, would be the winner of the game provided no other players had previously attained a score of one hundred points.

The above rules can of course be modified, and are given simply as showing the general nature of the game.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let'- ters Patent, is-

A game apparatus consisting of a number of tops having faceted sides, the total number of facets in the series of tops being substantially equal to or greater than the number of letters in the alphabet, and each facet having a letter or symbol printed or attached thereto.

FRANK A. BYRAM. Vitnesses:

LISLE SroKEs, JosHUA MATLACK, Jr. 

